If you wish you could color-coordinate your technology with the rest of your life, then the Satechi Spectrum Mouse ($29.99) may just be the peripheral to match your needs. It's a USB wired mouse with an unusual color-cycling feature that enables it to glow in your choice of seven shades. You can match it your environment, your mood, or your mouse pad. Alternately, you can just let it cycle colors and beam out a variety of hues.

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The two main buttons on the Spectrum offer standard left- and right-click functionality. The scroll wheel in the middle is clickable, so it can act as a third button. While there's no button-customization software, you can reverse the functionality of the left and right click buttons in the Windows control panel.

The outer shell is very smooth, with a mirror-like material and a chrome finish that can be a magnet for smudges and fingerprints. On either side is an indented oval grip area, but since they're fashioned out of the same slippery material as the rest of the mouse, they're of little use.

The underside is actually the most interactive part of the device. There's the sensor lens for the optical pickup mechanism, as well as a three-position switch that controls the lighting. The lighting comes in the form of stripes that peek through the different seams in the mouse. The rim, where the top of the shell meets the lower half, lights up, as well as the perimeters of the side grip areas. You also get some shine through the mouse wheel itself, since it's made of a translucent white plastic, a stripe down the center of the mouse, and through a Satechi logo on the top.

In day-to-day use, the left- and right-click buttons were a touch stiff to press. More of an issue is the mouse's dimensions. At roughly 3.5 inches long by 2.25 wide, it resembles a more compact model meant for travel.

The Spectrum is a serviceable little mouse for those who want a basic pointer that's on the small side. It requires only a light touch to push around the desk, and the actual mouse tracking accuracy was good. If you enjoy a light show, then this is worth a look.

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Laarni Almendrala Ragaza is the Managing Editor for the Hardware team. She is in charge of reviewing and testing desktops, laptops, netbooks, monitors, external hard drives, components (such as CPUs and graphics card), and peripheral devices, as well as keeping a motley group of lead analysts happy.
Laarni started her career with PC Magazine in 2000 as a staff editor for the Network Infrastructure team. Over the years, she has taken several positions, usually within the realm of Hardware, including Associate Editor, Section Editor, PCMag...
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